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Session One

Ask students to respond to the following prompt at the beginning of the session: "Imagine that you are at a sporting event such as a football or soccer game, a gymnastics or swim meet. What sounds do you hear?" Instruct students to record a list of sounds in their writing journals. Encourage struggling students by asking them to consider specific sounds: the athletes, the crowd, the officials, etc.

Ask students to share their journal responses. As students offer their suggestions, record them on the board, overhead, or other projector.

Lead a discussion of the responses. Ask students to comment on the similarities and differences they see among the various words. Guide students to note that some words are labels for a sound (e.g. scream, whistle) while other words attempt to recreate the sound they represent (e.g., crash, swoosh).

Students who are already familiar with the term onomatopoeia will likely be able to provide this term; otherwise, introduce the term and have the class agree upon a definition of onomatopoeia.

Have students decide which words on the board are examples of onomatopoeia and which are not.

Inform students that the class will be looking for how an author uses sound words to enhance the meaning of the poem as you distribute copies of the poem "Analysis of Baseball" by May Swenson.

After distributing the poem, ask a student to read the poem aloud while the rest of the class follows along.

Lead a discussion about the poem. You may ask students to point out examples of onomatopoeia and discuss how the use of onomatopoeia adds to the poem. If you wish, refer to the Annotated Copy of "Analysis of Baseball" for a detailed list of questions.

Have students listen to the audio file of "The Sweetest Roll" from Rimshots by Charles R. Smith, Jr.and lead a brief discussion on sound words in that poem.

Session Two

Begin this session by reviewing and reinforcing the concept of onomatopoeia. Show a segment from a sporting event and have students write down examples of onomatopoeia. After viewing the video, allow time for students to share their findings with the class.

Let students use the remainder of the session to continue the draft of their poem. As students write, monitor their progress and confer with students if needed.

As rough drafts are completed, place students with a partner for peer response. After exchanging drafts, students can complete the Peer Response to Sports Poetry handout. Depending on your students' familiarity with peer response, you may need to go over the handout with them to clarify the process.

Session Three

Students will use this session to finish peer response, if necessary; revise their writing based on peer feedback; and illustrate their poems.

They may move to computers to start using the Flip Book student interactive. Remind students that they need to print as they finish, as they cannot save their work in the Flip Book student interactive.

As students continue the writing process, monitor their progress and confer with students if needed.

If students finish early, they should prepare for their presentation in the next session.

STUDENT ASSESSMENT/REFLECTIONS

Use the Sports Poetry Flip Book Rubric to assess students’ written and verbal performance. Additionally, observe students’ participation in class discussions and confer with them during the writing process.